Face masks have been used throughout the medical industry not only for the medical provider but also for the patient. Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to face masks and other protective clothing, helmets, gloves, face shields, goggles, and/or respirators or other equipment designed to protect the wearer from injury or the spread of infection or illness. PPE is commonly used in health care settings such as hospitals, doctor's offices and clinical labs. When used properly, PPE acts as a barrier between infectious materials such as viral and bacterial contaminants and the skin, mouth, nose, or eyes (mucous membranes). The barrier has the potential to block transmission of contaminants from blood, body fluids, or respiratory secretions. PPE may also protect patients who are at high risk for contracting infections through a surgical procedure or who have a medical condition, such as, an immunodeficiency from being exposed to substances or to potentially infectious materials brought in by visitors and healthcare workers. When used properly with other infection control practices such as hand-washing, using alcohol-based hand sanitizers, and covering coughs and sneezes, PPE minimizes the spread of infection from one person to another. Effective use of PPE includes properly removing and disposing of contaminated PPE to prevent exposing both the wearer and other people to infection.
If worn properly, a face mask is a barrier that helps block large-particle droplets, splashes, sprays or splatters that may contain germs (viruses and bacteria). This barrier either keeps that fluid from escaping into the environment or from entering into the wearer's mouth and nose.
By applying a scent agent to the face mask, the medical provider may be able to provide longer bedside care. Also, and perhaps more importantly, a cancer patient wearing a scented face mask may feel more comfortable, decreasing the quantity of medications the patient consumes (less anti-nausea medications for example). For instance, in one case study, a patient emerging from a successfully completed chemotherapy regimen attempted to purchase a juice drink at a local store. The smells in that juice store, however, triggered nausea, loss of appetite and other symptoms. (This distorted association is not uncommon for cancer patients. Often times patients associate certain things to taste and smells, causing anxiety, nutritional complications and difficult quality of life indications.) The sensitivity of smell started affecting this patient in the hospital as well. Each time the patient would enter the hospital for routine labs and chemotherapy, the nausea would begin and cause the patient to not want to enter the building. Home care was also affected because the smell of chemotherapy was all over the bed, sheets, room and parts of the house.
A scented face mask can mitigate these nausea-triggering smells. However, past face mask designs simply applied a scent to the mask material, and that scent would vaporize off the mask very quickly. Other scented masks were placed in a sealed bag to prevent the vaporization and prolong the shelf life of the mask. This too, had its drawbacks in that the user could not simply place the mask on their face; rather, they would need to remove the sealed packaging and then wear the mask. This is time consuming, potentially less hygienic, and creates more waste.
What is needed, therefore, is a scented face mask, with a prolonged shelf life that will begin to release its scent once the user places the mask on her face.